Pacific countries and RFBs meet to discuss the PSMA
Officials from 7 States, Parties to the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) and non-Parties, together with fiveregional fishery bodies met in Brisbane, Australia, for the third PSMA Regional Coordination Meeting for the Southwest Pacific, to discuss matters related to the implementation of the PSMA in the region.
The meeting, which was hosted by the Government of Australia, took place from 19 to 23 January 2026. It followed the second meeting held in New Zealand in 2024, and the first meeting held in Fiji in 2022. This was also the fourth Regional Coordination Meeting since the Fifth Meeting of the Parties to the PSMA, after Bergen, Norway (1 - 5 September 2025), Davao, the Philippines (21 - 25 July 2025), and Cancun, Mexico (2 - 6 June 2025).
PSMA Regional Vice-Chair Mr Jordan Owczarek participated in the meeting where 6 Parties to the PSMA – Tonga, Tuvalu, Fiji, Australia, Papua New Guinee, and New Zealand – discussed with Solomon Islands and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC), and the Pacific Community (SPC), ways to strengthen the implementation and effectiveness of the PSMA in the region, while at the same time, celebrate the achievements of the Agreement during its 10th year since entry into force.